Metal handling and storage bolster



Jan. 22, 1957 H. F. JEANNERO 2,778,590

METAL HANDLING AND STORAGE BOLSTER Filed July 15, 1952 llll ' INVENTOR.

W HermarzKkmz/zem ATTORNEYS United States Patent METAL HANDLING AND STORAGE BOLSTER Herman F. Jeaunero, Canton, Ohio Application July 15, 1952, Serial No.- 298,993

2 Claims. (Cl. 248-120) The invention relates to the handling and storage of billets, bars, tubes and other lengths of metal, and more particularly to a bolster or rack for receiving the metal. I It is common practice in steel mills to load such lengths of metal upon bolsters or racks, as they are discharged from the mill, and to transport the loaded bolster or rack to a storage space where the metal remains upon the bolster or rack until it isremoved therefrom for fabrication in the mill or' for transportation.

Such bolsters or racks as are now commonly in use for this purpose are in the form of a heavy rigid rectangular rack designed to be picked up by a straddle truck for transportation from the mill to the storage place or from the storage place to any desired location, with the load of metal lengths thereon.

Loads of metal lengths up to 15 tons are placed upon a single bolster or rack and as in many cases theloaded bolstersor racks are placed upon a storage lot'or other outdoor location and any unevenness in the ground upon which the bolster is placed results in the heavy load of metal thereon distorting or twisting the bolster, frequently resulting in breakage or other damage thereto.

The present invention has as a primary object the provision of a bolster or rack, the members of which are flexibly joined together, permitting an extreme flexibility of the bolster under load to compensate for any unevenness in the ground upon which it is placed.

Another object is to provide such a bolster comprising a pair of end frames having upright extensions at their ends, and a pair of side members flexibly connecting the end frames in spaced relation, the side members being of desired length to accommodate the lengths of metal to be handled and stored.

A further object is to provide such a bolster in which the side members are in the form of rods or tubes located through enlarged or oval openings in the end frames, permitting flexibility of the bolster in all directions.

A still further object is to provide double conical openings in the end frames to receive the rods and form fulcrums upon which the rods may pivot.

Another object is to provide such a bolster in which each end frame has an arcuate upper load bearing surface for contact with the lower course of metal lengths, so that the metal has only a line contact with the end frames, thus compensating for flexing of the bolster in use, and forming minimum contact with the magnet.

A further object is to provide such a bolster which may be handled either by a straddle truck or by a fourchain spread upon an overhead crane.

A still further object is to provide such a bolster in which the rods or tubes which join the end frames are provided with collars or shoulders upon each side of each end frame to prevent displacement of the rods or tubes.

The above objects together with others which may be apparent from the drawing and following description, or which may be later referred to, may be attained by constructing the inmproved bolster in the manner herein- 2,778,590 Patented Jan. 22, 1957 2 after described in detail and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which;

Fig. 1 is an end elevation of a bolster embodying the invention, parts being broken away for the purpose of illustration;

Fig. 2 a side elevation of a bolster with parts broken in section; and,

Fig. 3 a top plan view of the bolster.

Referring now more particularly to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout, the bolster comprises two similar end frames indicated generally at 10, flexibly connected in spaced rela tion by the spacing rods or tubes 11.

The end frames are both similar and only one frame will be described in detail. These frames may be in the form of steel castings, forging's or the like comprising the web 12 of suitable thickness, having the flat flange 13 of substantial width at its lower edge and extending an equal distance from each side of the Web.

At each end of the frame the bottom flange is offset upwardly, and then outwardly, as at 14 and 15, forming shoulders beneath which the grip jaws of a straddle truck may engage for lifting the bolster from the ground and transporting it to a desired location.

An upright extension 16 is formed in each end of the frame, the inner sides of the extension merging, through the radius 17, with the Hat top surface 18. The flange tapers upwardly, from each horizontal shoulder 15 to the top of each extension 16, as indicated at 19, and merges T into the considerably narrower arcuate flange 20 which extendsalong the inner side. of each extension 16 and across the horizontal load bearing surface 18, so that when billets, bars, tubes or the like, as indicated at B in Fig. l, are placed upon the bolster, the lower course of such metal lengths will have only a line contact with each frame, permitting considerable flexing of the parts of the bolster relative to each other without displacing the load.

For the purpose of flexibly connecting the rods or tubes 11. to the end frames, apertures 21 are formed through the frames at points near opposite ends thereof, these apertures being slightly larger than the diameter of the connecting or spacing rods 11, and preferably slightly elongated in a vertical direction, as best shown in Fig. 1.

In order to provide fulcrums upon which the connecting and spacing rods may pivot so that the entire frame may flex in any required direction, the apertures 21 may be of double conical shape as best shown in Fig. 2.

For the purpose of preventing displacement of the rods or tubes 11 relative to the frames, collars or shoulders 22 may be welded, or otherwise securely attached, to each rod or tube 11 on each side of each of the end frames.

In order that the'loaded bolster may be handled by an overhead crane, apertures 23 are formed in the upper portions of the extensions 16 of the end frames, to be engaged by hooks upon spread chains carried by the crane.

It will be seen that the load bearing surfaces 18 of the end frames are located in a horizontal plane spaced above the rods or tubes 11 so as to permit the forks of a lift truck to be received therebetween in order to lift the load of metal lengths from the bolster.

From the above it will be obvious that the improved metal handling and storage bolster or rack may flex to considerable extent in any direction without distorting or damaging the bolster under load. This is particularly desirable in cases where the loaded bolsters are stored in an outdoor storage space, such as commonly used by many of the steel mills at present, since the bolster will accommodate itself to any unevenness of the ground without causing damage to the bolster.

In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness and understanding, but no unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirements of the prior art, because such words are used for descriptive purposes herein and are intended to be broadly construed.

Moreover, the embodiments of the improved construction illustrated and described herein are by Way of example, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the exact details of construction.

Having now described the invention or discovery, the construction, the operation, and use of preferred embodiments thereof, and the advantageous new and useful results obtained thereby; the new and useful constructions, and reasonable mechanical equivalents thereof obvious to those skilled in the art, are set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A metal handling and storage bolster for billets, bars, tubes and the like, said bolster comprising a spaced pair of similar end frames, each end frame being in the form of a vertical plate having an upright extension at each end and a substantially straight horizontal load-bearing flanged upper edge therebetween, and a substantially horizontal lower edge for contact with a supporting surface, there being a transverse aperture near each end of each frame, a pair of rod-like side members having their opposite ends located through said apertures, said rod-like members having a smaller diameter than that of said aperture to define radial spaces between the adjacent surfaces of the rod and the walls of the apertures whereby the frames and rod-like members of the bolster may move relative to each other to compensate for unevenness in the supporting surface, and integral shoulders upon said 4 side members spaced on opposite sides of the end frames for providing limited axial and angular displacement of the side members relative to the end frames.

2. A metal handling and storage bolster for billets, bars, tubes and the like, said bolster comprising a spaced pair of similar end frames, each end frame being in the form of a vertical plate having an upright extension at each end and a substantially straight horizontal loadbearing flanged upper edge therebetween, and a substantially horizontal lower edge for contact with a supporting surface, there being a transverse, double conical aperture near each end of each frame, a pair of rod-like side members having their opposite ends located through said apertures, said rod-like members having a smaller diameter than that of said aperture to define radial spaces between the adjacent surfaces of the rod and the walls of the apertures whereby the frames and rod-like members of the bolster may move relative to each other to compensate for unevenness in the supporting surface, and integral shoulders upon said side members spaced on 0p posite sides of the end frames for providing limited axial and angular displacement of the side members relative to the end frames.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 699,475 Bechtel May 6, 1902 770,010 Johnson et al. Sept. 13, 1904 1,029,139 Moltrup June 11, 1912 1,830,998 Harbord Nov. 10, 1931 2,463,587 Arthur Mar. 8, 1949 2,487,687 Arthur et a1 Nov. 8, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 789,907 France Aug. 26, 1935 

